Slimy

How to spell slimy

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce slimy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does slimy mean?

1. adjectiveCoated with or resembling a soft, wet, slippery substance.
2. adjectiveRepulsively smooth, insincere, or morally untrustworthy in manner.

Slimy in a sentence

• The rocks near the waterline were slimy and treacherous underfoot.

• The slimy salesman kept changing the price every time she asked a question.

• She scrubbed the slimy residue from the inside of the fish tank.

• His slimy flattery made the whole interview feel deeply dishonest.

Where does slimy come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows directly from the Old English noun slim, meaning soft, slippery mud or mucus, a thoroughly native Germanic word with close relatives in Dutch slijm and German Schleim, all carrying the sense of something wet and gluey. The adjective form, slimy, simply attaches the productive English suffix -y, which turns a noun into a quality word meaning full of or covered in that thing, much as dirt becomes dirty. The figurative use, describing a person as repulsively smooth, insincere, or untrustworthy, developed by the sixteenth century, drawing on the natural disgust at touching something slick and clinging. The spelling trap lives in the join: the parent noun slime ends in a silent e, but that e is dropped before -y, so the correct form is slimy rather than slimey. Remembering that slime loses its tail when it gains its quality keeps the spelling secure.

How the word is built

• slim(e) (from slime: soft, slippery mud or mucus)
• -y (adjective suffix), with the silent e of slime dropped before -y